Finding a Puzzle
by Jillie chan
Summary: Merritt talent has always been finding people's secrets. Now he has to figure out what to do with Daniel's.


Disclaimer: I hold no legal right to the Now You See Me Movies. I hold only the copyright to this fanfic.

Merritt was always the first one to notice anything personal about the team. It was his habit, his job to people watch, to study, and his new, for lack of a better word, "teammates" just happened to be the people he could watch and study the most consistently. It was how he knew that Jack was living in the apartment in New York or as Merritt called it 'the office'. Technically Jack was squatting really but, hey, the kid was never late that way.

His watching was also why he would flirt with Henley, which with any luck would lead to something more, showering her with praise on the days that she was radiating "Don't mind me, I'm just the girl," or "They don't get it!" even "I'm on my period and murdering Danny is the only thing I'm thinking about." He could tell that she needed a boost.

The fact that it just so happened to drive Daniel up a wall was an added bonus.

And the things he saw about Daniel needed, _demanded_ , confirmation. If only so Merritt could confirm that there was a certain button that should never ever be pushed. Unfortunately the only way to know for sure was to push it.

Merritt got the chance to look for that button when he swung by the office and Henley angrily pushed by him on the way out. "Hey, angel-" was all Merritt was able to get out before she was halfway down the stairs.

"I've got the door," He muttered to himself, shoving it closed. Merritt meandered down the hall to see Daniel bent over shuffling through papers around the couch.

Merritt leaned against the wall. "So, what _exactly_ did you say to Henley to make her storm out of here?"

Daniel glanced up and returned to going through papers, clearly dismissing Merritt. "Nothing."

Merritt nodded slowly. "So you ignored her."

"Uh, Does it matter?"

"A little," Merritt said, watching as Daniel forcefully dropped a stack of paper onto the seat of the couch and held his hands out as if to tell it to stay.

"Well, she's a big girl who can, as she's fond of saying, can take care of herself. And what she wanted to talk about wasn't important, so me ignoring her? Really doesn't matter, if you think about it; which I don't!" Daniel stood, grabbing papers on the table and going through them.

And right there was the opening he'd been looking for. Merritt tried to pretend to be studying his finger nails but his attention was solely on Daniel. "Is that because you are what the kids now a days are calling non-neural-typical?"

Daniel shook his head slightly. "I don't know what that means."

"Okay then, laymen's terms: Autistic."

The effect was immediate, even if Merritt wasn't a mentalist, no one, not even Merritt's lying, thieving, hack of a brother, could have missed the way Daniel froze.

"I…I don't know what you are talking about," Daniel turned his back to Merritt.

"At first, I thought it might have been OCD, what with Henley's whole control freak spiel. But you don't show the signs of it as it were. No checking everything a million times, no rituals you _have_ to do. Heck I don't think I've seen you even drink coffee the same way."

"Are you trying to be clever? 'Cause you are doing a very poor job of it," Daniel dismissed, but he had stopped going through the papers.

"But then I started noticing that you are prone to bouts of hyper-focusing, have a basic inability to understand certain, shall I say, social cues, and a clear obsession with magic-"

"'Obsession with magic'? We're magicians of course I'm _obsessed_ with magic."

"-to the point," Merritt raised his voice over Daniel's protest, "that you ignore the people around you. Need I go on?"

"Uh, no, cause you are completely wrong and this conversation is over."

"Completely wrong?"

"Yes, completely," Daniel turned around finally, dropping the papers on the table, "Because if, I was actually autistic, as your hypothesis suggests, then I wouldn't be able to do what I do."

"And why is that?"

Daniel looked at the ceiling for a moment. "Uh, crowds. Wouldn't be able to handle them."

"Yes, you would and you can."

"How-"

"Because you, my friend, stop thinking of them as people," Merritt pushed away from the wall stepping closer to Daniel. "You don't have to interact with them one on one. They are an element to manipulate, the most important one sure, but just a prop to you. And no one feels bad when you don't look them in the eye because they expect you to bounce your attention around the crowd. But with me," Merritt put his hands to his chest, "You've been looking at my shoulder or those papers most of this time."

"Uh, that is not true," Daniel's smirk was tight, his eyes darting over Merritt's shoulder for half a second. "And it's not like you have proof, real proof, otherwise I might actually believe you, somewhat."

"Really? Because where I'm standing you have Asperger's. And my proof? You're currently stimming." Merritt gave a meaningful look at Daniel's hand.

Daniel looked down as well where he was rubbing the pads of his thumb with his middle and forefingers together. Daniel raised his hand forcing his fingers apart, looking angrily at the wall.

"I mean you're doing alright, even if you do piss Henley off to no end. Not bad for someone on the Spectru-"

Daniel broke, stepping into Merritt's space and staring him right in the eye. "Okay, fine you are somewhat clever, but let me tell you something, if you think you can get me to break down crying, rocking in a corner somewhere, you _sadly_ mistaken. I am _not_ some hand-flapping idiot who can just railroad or blackmail into, into being your puppet or something. I am _way_ smarter than you and if you think that my, my condition makes any less of anything I will _destroy_ you so _badly_ no one will ever know there was supposed to _be_ a fourth Horseman!"

Merritt let Daniel's rant hang in the air for a moment and then gave a small nod. "So…I take it Henley doesn't know."

"No, and if you ever say a word to anyone then I will make your life so hard that Hell will be a relief!" Daniel promised.

"Uh," Jack said, drawing their attention to the hall, "Did I miss something?"

Daniel froze again and Merritt, after months of watching for tells, could see panic clear on his face.

"Yes," Merritt said, turning dramatically to Jack, "you have just missed the most _spectacular_ temper tantrum. You see, Danny-boy here has just thrown a huge fit because he thinks I keep moving his papers off of the couch!"

"Oh, shit," Jack moved a bag of groceries into his other hand running his now free hand through his hair. "Danny, I'm so sorry. I was- trying to clean up the apartment."

Merritt looked over at Daniel, who was, obvious to Merritt, relieved that there was a believable cover story.

"Well, Danny?" Merritt prompted.

Daniel blinked and just like that he was back in control. "Yeah, well, don't do it again," Daniel said, picking up the papers and dropping them on the couch.

"Alright, man I won't."

"What's in the bag?" Merritt asked as he walked over to Jack.

"Oh, uh, eggs, coffee, stuff, case we get hungry."

Merritt threw an arm around Jack's shoulders. "I'll help you put 'em away."

Out of the corner of his eye he could see Daniel gently clapping with a flat hand and a fist. Daniel grabbed his coat and power walked to the hallway.

Damn Merritt's conscience for getting the better of him. "Daniel."

Daniel was shrugging on his coat but he still turned to look at Merritt.

Merritt stepped away from a curious Jack and pulled out his wallet and held out a twenty-dollar bill looking Daniel in the eye. "Consider this an apology for me being a colossal dick. And I promise I won't tell anyone that you're…an asshole."

"Yeah, well, apology not accepted," Daniel said and snatched the bill out of Merritt's hand.

"Fair enough."

Daniel slammed the door and Merritt could feel Jack's questioning gaze. "What was that about?"

"Oh, just a little argument we got into." Merritt said, taking one of the bags from Jack, "But really when you sleep on the couch tonight put the papers back. Don't' do something stupid like sleep in the bathtub; I'm pretty sure that's bad for your back."

"Right," Jack rubbed the back of his head again. "Hey, you're not going to tell the others are you?"

"Jackie," Merritt said, mentally putting a post-it with "do not push" on it over Daniel's button. "Everyone's secrets are safe with me."


End file.
